Sunday, July 4, 2010

An Awful Manner

"Monday 17th Feb. 1777. Attended on the funeral of old Mr. Haley who left the World in an awful manner (being drunk, and senseless in a great measure) last Friday the 14th, Inst., being, I think, upwards of 70 years of age."

This is an excerpt from The Life of Jonathan Scott which mostly consists of his journal entries. He was my 6th great-grandfather and a minister in Nova Scotia and later, Maine. "Old Mr. Haley" was Ebenezer Haley, also my 6th great-grandfather. Before this, I had always heard that Ebenezer had died at sea and had been swept overboard. Every time I read that it makes me laugh out loud... and remember why family legends were created in the first place.

About

I'm a 20-something, long-time genealogy enthusiast from Northern California. My paternal ancestry is mostly concentrated in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada. On my mother's side, I am a 6th generation Californian, with ties further back to many of the lower 48 states.